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Sainsbury’s Spar and IGD amongst VIP speakers at Irish Retail seminar

Irish producers and manufacturers attending the first in a series of retail seminars entitled ‘Breaking into UK Retail’ on Thursday 9th September at the Marriott Hotel in Ashbourne Co. Meath, have hailed it a complete success.

Hosted by Oakland International and focusing on the UK retail market and the intricacies of supply chain integration, speakers discussed with potential Irish exporters how to overcome perceived barriers when dealing with UK retailers.

Case studies were kindly supplied by Patrick Duffy from Kozy Shack and Bernard Coyle from Mr Crumb, both established Irish exporters. Nick Green of Barbreeze gave a broker’s perspective on dealing with UK retailers with the event coming to a close following an in depth presentation by Oakland International on UK supply chain solutions.

With suppliers in Ireland recognised for having high quality products and viewed by the UK as a preferred ‘local’ country of origin, barriers to export from Ireland have primarily been supply chain costs and UK retail compliance. Oakland International UK MD Dean Attwell stated: “Feedback from the conference was extremely positive with suppliers, government officials and export agencies commenting on the well-rounded, all inclusive agenda which showed how to overcome the challenges of export to UK retail. Having successfully held this type of event in the UK Oakland is well-placed, understanding the UK retailer market as we do and able to support any Ireland-based producers wishing to explore the many UK opportunities available.”

With industry’s attention focused on supply chain efficiencies, gaining first-hand insight of the UK marketplace was viewed as a must for all Irish producers looking to work with UK retail. A well supported event, Oakland is now committed to holding a similar event in Cork this coming January.

Wyke Farms Appoints New ChairmanSpread the loveWyke Farms, one of the UK’s largest independent cheese makers and milk processors, producing over 13,000 tonnes of cheddar per year, has announced that Paul Hardwick (pictured) will...

Orkla Acquires Havrefras BrandSpread the loveOrkla has signed and completed an agreement with PepsiCo to purchase the Havrefras brand, including Rug Fras and Mini Fras, which holds a strong market position in Scandinavia...